


The Last Straw

by wackyjacqs



Series: Bizarre Holidays [3]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Angst, Episode: s08e18 Threads, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-03 19:37:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17290121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wackyjacqs/pseuds/wackyjacqs
Summary: Sam reached up and took her father’s hand gently in hers. She wasn’t sure what she expected him to talk about as he lay dying, but questioning her happiness and what she did – or didn’t – have in her life hadn’t ranked highly on the list.





	The Last Straw

**Author's Note:**

> A slightly extended scene for season 8 ‘Threads’, when Jacob tells Sam that she can still have everything she wants. Written for ‘Drinking Straw Day’, it kind of diverted from what I had originally planned... this is an angsty one!

“You can still have everything you want.”

Sam reached up and took her father’s hand gently in hers. She wasn’t sure what she expected him to talk about as he lay dying, but questioning her happiness and what she did – or didn’t – have in her life hadn’t ranked highly on the list. But she was fine. She had an amazing job; she had a supportive team that always had her back; and now that she had Pete, the previously oft-neglected personal side of her life – that consisted of family and kids – was possible. And that was what she wanted… wasn’t it?

Before she could dwell on the question too much, she caught her dad studying her, and the words had left her mouth before she could stop them.

“I do, dad.”

His sigh of frustration surprised her, as did the look of disbelief on his face, but she didn’t want to argue with him. Not now. She averted her gaze as another wave of emotion threatened to overwhelm her. In his unique fatherly way, all Jacob had ever wanted, was for her to be happy. The two of them may not always have seen eye-to-eye on how to achieve those goals, but none of it mattered anymore. All that mattered to Sam was for her dad to know that she would be fine.

“Really,” she stressed, when his expression didn’t change.

She squeezed his fingers tighter and rested her chin on their entwined hands. Her eyes had just slipped closed when Jacob started to cough. Sam jumped to her feet and was just about to call for a nurse when her dad shook his head.

“Water,” he gasped.

She reached over and lifted a small plastic tumbler from the nearby unit, and Jacob nodded as he tried to catch his breath. His hands shook as he tried to reach for a drink, so Sam carefully pushed his hand away and held the straw between her fingers. He nodded again when he finished, but instead of placing it back on the unit, Sam held onto it and returned to her chair.

“You know,” Jacob said tiredly, a sad smile twisting his lips as his eyes focused on the item in Sam’s hands. “I remember the days when I had to do that for you.”

“I remember too,” she whispered.

“You had just turned four,” Jacob continued wistfully, his gaze shifting to his daughter’s face, “and had strep throat. The only thing you could eat was ice cream, which you were happy about for a while, but it wasn’t the most nutritious meal for a child.” A soft chuckle escaped him at the memory. “You ate so much ice cream you made yourself sick – in the end you could only manage water.”

“I had a tumbler with pictures of the moon and stars on it,” Sam interjected fondly. “The straw matched.”

Jacob nodded before his expression turned serious. Carefully, he leaned on his elbows and propped himself back against the pillows.

“I worried about you,” he admitted. “All I could do was make sure you took a drink every few minutes. I felt so helpless, but your mom – your mom was amazing, and she – she said something at the time, and it’s always stuck. She –”

He stopped abruptly as he started to cough again.

“Take it easy, dad.”

He nodded in response and forced the words out through shallow breaths. “Your mom – she – she said I – I was looking after somebody – protecting somebody – that I loved – and – and that it would – make you feel better – than any medicine ever would.”

A tear escaped Sam and she quickly swiped it away, not noticing how her father’s attention quickly drifted over her shoulder towards the door.

“Your mom was right.”

At her frown, he captured her hand in his. “You trusted me – to look after you, Sam. And the people we love – we always look after them – in – in the good times – and the bad. Even in ways we don’t realize.”

Sam bit down on her bottom lip to try and stop more tears from falling.

“You’ll forever be my baby girl – and I am so – so proud of you, Sammie. In everything. You have grown into a beautiful, smart, intelligent woman. You have the most incredible job.” His grip tightened on her hand. “And you – you have three men who would do anything for you,” he added, before he lowered his voice. “One in particular who I know –”

“Dad –”

“What I’m trying to say is – is that – it – it’s okay to let someone help you. Let someone look after you again.”

“I don’t –”

_“Trust him,”_ he whispered intently. “Trust _me._ One last time. _Please._ ”

“Dad, I –”

A light knock on the door interrupted and Sam turned to see the General standing awkwardly in the doorway. She went to stand, but he shook his head.

“Come on in, Jack,” Jacob called weakly before he addressed Sam. “You should get some rest, kiddo.”

“I’m not leaving you.”

“I’ll be fine for a while yet,” he assured her. “I’d actually like Jack to sit with me for a while.”

Her forehead wrinkled slightly at the request. “Are you sure?”

“I don’t mind, Carter,” Jack answered and despite the turmoil Sam was currently experiencing, his voice – his presence – just… _him._ It was the anchor she didn’t realize she so suddenly and desperately needed.

The slightest movement caught her attention and she looked down to see the general’s right hand outstretched, palm facing upwards.

“I’ll look after him until you’re back. Or I can stay,” he added quietly. “If that’s what you want.”

Her eyes snapped to his and she noticed an intensity that wasn’t there moments earlier. A myriad of emotions passed through his eyes, and she caught the moment when he told her everything.

_You can trust me._

He took a step closer, his next words murmured for her ears only. “Your dad’s right too, you know.”

Sam didn’t need to question him. She had made her decision, and almost immediately, the uncomfortable, crushing weight that had been pressing down on her ever since she had chosen Pete, had vanished.

Her hand shook as she slowly reached forward to place the tumbler in his hand, but before she could fully let go, Jack twisted his fingers around to catch hers. The movement was slight, but deliberate. The touch brief, but enough. Its meaning simple, and profound.

He would be with her today, and every day if that was what she wanted. And finally, she could admit that that was exactly what she wanted.


End file.
